It was very delightful to read of your struggle with German, as I, native German speaker, do struggle a lot with French. I learned the language for several years in school, but I just cannot get behind it. VERB CONJUGATION IS HARD! I recently tried to privately learn it again but I am not motivated, as material is either too simple or too hard...
On the other hand, I started Japanese and it is SO much fun! I like it just because it forces me to think completely different. For now I am just forcing myself through vocab to have a basis to learn grammar on, but I am loving the journey so far. Wish I had more time for it.
Thank you for your nice posts! :) ps. I really like the small translation exercise in different levels at the end of each post! Please keep that! It's a great idea!
I'm so glad you're having fun with Japanese! I feel like I have a similar experience with Korean. 😊
Take it slow with French, she is *mean* when it comes to grammar, spellings and all the exceptions that go with it. For my German learning, listening a lot helped more than memorising the rules. I'll try to compile a few fun resources with subtitles for you to watch while relaxing. At least we have ARTE as a common resource. 😁
One of my main intentions is to get better at it for my studies. I started my master's degree in comparative literature and for that you ought to have a second European language (next to english). I tried picking up some books in French, but it is hard for me to keep it up if it is not enjoyable. (Thanks, dear french teacher in middle school 🥲 She really ruined it for me.) But I am still motivated to try it again, somehow. So if you have some ideas what I could check out, I'd be happy to check them out!
I love how detailed this post is!! I'll probably make a similar post sometime in the new year.
It's amazing how our perceptions of our abilities can be so different to others. You mentioned that the language levels you gave yourself are more related to your confidence rather than your true proficiency. I usually tend to underestimate my abilities because I'm aware there's so much I'll have to learn even if I become advanced or fluent.
Thank you for sharing your journey and good luck in the future. 😊
Languages are genuinely so hard and long to master, it's natural to underestimate your ability. With time, I'm realising how confidence can boost my learning, how much fun I'm having, and eventually my skills (especially with Dutch and Italian).
I feel like your posts give a good overview of your level and how you feel about all your target languages, but I'm genuinely looking forward to reading the full story, especially what got you into each language. 😊
You make a good point though! Yesterday I hit my 1 year relearning French mark and I had a lesson with my tutor. I felt the most confident and comfortable I've ever felt speaking during that lesson. I started to think that hey, maybe I do speak French 😂
This made me feel painfully American, even if I grew up bilingual. I have a hard time with gauging my Japanese, there will be times I understand without even needing to give it a second thought and others where I feel like I'm in way over my head.
With learning a language (or seven), the payoff comes from the effort we invest while having fun with it. Casually learning a fourth language is something constantly on my mind and maybe I'll get there someday :)
I'm not sure what it means to be painfully American, but I'm definitely grateful to be able to travel easily within Europe. 😊
After reading everyone's comments, I'm realising I probably overestimate my level. But I'd rather be optimistic, I find it motivating!
Take your time for learning a fourth language, Japanese is no joke. I heard it's similar to Korean in some ways, and I could easily see myself study Korean for years to come! 😁
What I meant is that Europeans just seem to have multiple languages under their belt and Americans only have English and a touch of a second language 😂
And yes, I totally agree! Sometimes, overestimating your level makes willing to face more challenges and take more risks! So keep spreading that optimism. ✨
As for Japanese, I’ve accepted that it’ll take me the rest of my life to learn! With a lofty goal of native-like fluency, I know the journey will be a long one 🫶🏼
Where that can be true for some northern European countries, France is known for being very conservative with French. We even have laws like a quota on the radio (40% of the songs have to be in French). The school system is also known for being quite judgemental of failure, so people don't dare speak in English. I used to be mocked for having a non-french accent, because it sounded so different! I'm not even mentioning learning a third language, 99% of students hated studying German or Spanish (although it was mandatory, it was very superficial).
As a result, most French people have a fear around foreign languages and sometimes freak out or answer coldly to foreigners because they feel uncomfortable using English. Even in international events held in France, it's crazy how neglected English is.
You'll find thousands of French language lovers online, but we're a minority of nerds 😁
It's super interesting to see how our country can look from another perspective!
Lou, it was so fun going through the post and I can't wait to compile something similar in the nearest future. It's interesting how none of the languages you've been learning follow an identical path. There are so many factors at play!
It's like I'm learning something new every time, not just the language! I'm trying to pay more attention to all the skills and knowledge we're developing on the side when we're studying and practising languages, I find it fascinating. 😊
I seriously can't wait to read your journey, the little summary you complied in one of your earlier posts got me intrigued. 👀
Thanks for sharing. I would really like to learn Korean someday, but I’ve got to get my Vietnamese listening skills to a higher level first.
Don't mention Vietnamese too loud, it's on my crush list! 😊
It seems so difficult though, it's not like I could dabble in it on the side. I'm trying to stay reasonable and focus on improving my Korean as well!
It was very delightful to read of your struggle with German, as I, native German speaker, do struggle a lot with French. I learned the language for several years in school, but I just cannot get behind it. VERB CONJUGATION IS HARD! I recently tried to privately learn it again but I am not motivated, as material is either too simple or too hard...
On the other hand, I started Japanese and it is SO much fun! I like it just because it forces me to think completely different. For now I am just forcing myself through vocab to have a basis to learn grammar on, but I am loving the journey so far. Wish I had more time for it.
Thank you for your nice posts! :) ps. I really like the small translation exercise in different levels at the end of each post! Please keep that! It's a great idea!
I'm so glad you're having fun with Japanese! I feel like I have a similar experience with Korean. 😊
Take it slow with French, she is *mean* when it comes to grammar, spellings and all the exceptions that go with it. For my German learning, listening a lot helped more than memorising the rules. I'll try to compile a few fun resources with subtitles for you to watch while relaxing. At least we have ARTE as a common resource. 😁
One of my main intentions is to get better at it for my studies. I started my master's degree in comparative literature and for that you ought to have a second European language (next to english). I tried picking up some books in French, but it is hard for me to keep it up if it is not enjoyable. (Thanks, dear french teacher in middle school 🥲 She really ruined it for me.) But I am still motivated to try it again, somehow. So if you have some ideas what I could check out, I'd be happy to check them out!
I love how detailed this post is!! I'll probably make a similar post sometime in the new year.
It's amazing how our perceptions of our abilities can be so different to others. You mentioned that the language levels you gave yourself are more related to your confidence rather than your true proficiency. I usually tend to underestimate my abilities because I'm aware there's so much I'll have to learn even if I become advanced or fluent.
Thank you for sharing your journey and good luck in the future. 😊
Languages are genuinely so hard and long to master, it's natural to underestimate your ability. With time, I'm realising how confidence can boost my learning, how much fun I'm having, and eventually my skills (especially with Dutch and Italian).
I feel like your posts give a good overview of your level and how you feel about all your target languages, but I'm genuinely looking forward to reading the full story, especially what got you into each language. 😊
You make a good point though! Yesterday I hit my 1 year relearning French mark and I had a lesson with my tutor. I felt the most confident and comfortable I've ever felt speaking during that lesson. I started to think that hey, maybe I do speak French 😂
This made me feel painfully American, even if I grew up bilingual. I have a hard time with gauging my Japanese, there will be times I understand without even needing to give it a second thought and others where I feel like I'm in way over my head.
With learning a language (or seven), the payoff comes from the effort we invest while having fun with it. Casually learning a fourth language is something constantly on my mind and maybe I'll get there someday :)
I'm not sure what it means to be painfully American, but I'm definitely grateful to be able to travel easily within Europe. 😊
After reading everyone's comments, I'm realising I probably overestimate my level. But I'd rather be optimistic, I find it motivating!
Take your time for learning a fourth language, Japanese is no joke. I heard it's similar to Korean in some ways, and I could easily see myself study Korean for years to come! 😁
What I meant is that Europeans just seem to have multiple languages under their belt and Americans only have English and a touch of a second language 😂
And yes, I totally agree! Sometimes, overestimating your level makes willing to face more challenges and take more risks! So keep spreading that optimism. ✨
As for Japanese, I’ve accepted that it’ll take me the rest of my life to learn! With a lofty goal of native-like fluency, I know the journey will be a long one 🫶🏼
Oh I see! You're not alone, actually. 😊
Where that can be true for some northern European countries, France is known for being very conservative with French. We even have laws like a quota on the radio (40% of the songs have to be in French). The school system is also known for being quite judgemental of failure, so people don't dare speak in English. I used to be mocked for having a non-french accent, because it sounded so different! I'm not even mentioning learning a third language, 99% of students hated studying German or Spanish (although it was mandatory, it was very superficial).
As a result, most French people have a fear around foreign languages and sometimes freak out or answer coldly to foreigners because they feel uncomfortable using English. Even in international events held in France, it's crazy how neglected English is.
You'll find thousands of French language lovers online, but we're a minority of nerds 😁
It's super interesting to see how our country can look from another perspective!
Lou, it was so fun going through the post and I can't wait to compile something similar in the nearest future. It's interesting how none of the languages you've been learning follow an identical path. There are so many factors at play!
It's like I'm learning something new every time, not just the language! I'm trying to pay more attention to all the skills and knowledge we're developing on the side when we're studying and practising languages, I find it fascinating. 😊
I seriously can't wait to read your journey, the little summary you complied in one of your earlier posts got me intrigued. 👀